Thread: Torii Hunter and the Twins in 2013

Originally Posted by edavis0308

How has Oswalt been pitching lately?

I don't think he's talking roster spots. That outfield has David Murphy, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Hamilton, as well as a good 24-year old prospect in Leonys Martin. If Hamilton walks, maybe Hunter's a one-year guy. If Hamilton stays, where do you put him?

Originally Posted by 70charger

I don't think he's talking roster spots. That outfield has David Murphy, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Hamilton, as well as a good 24-year old prospect in Leonys Martin. If Hamilton walks, maybe Hunter's a one-year guy. If Hamilton stays, where do you put him?

Craig Gentry is having a very nice year as well. If Profar comes up next season I wouldn't be shocked to see them move Kinsler to the OF.

Either way at this point it appears the Rangers don't have a lot of roster spots for position players heading into next season (other then possible C/1B)

There are always options when you have a DH.

Originally Posted by TheLeviathan

There are always options when you have a DH.

Which they are already paying Michael Young 16 Million next year to occupy.

I can't see Hunter being an option unless they:

Lose Hamilton AND one of the following happens:
1. Trade Cruz
2. Trade/cut Young

And even then its questionable.

You're right, far more feasible that he'll go to the worst team in the AL.

This team has David Murphy in LF and Mitch Moreland at 1B and an aging Young. I'm sure they can find ABs in the right situation.

Originally Posted by TheLeviathan

You're right, far more feasible that he'll go to the worst team in the AL.

This team has David Murphy in LF and Mitch Moreland at 1B and an aging Young. I'm sure they can find ABs in the right situation.

I'm not saying Hunter would prefer Minnesota over Texas, I'm saying Texas will probably not have the at bats for him nor the desire to bring him in. (unless they get rid of Hamilton+another OF)

Also FWIW: Murphy and Moreland are both outpreforming Hunter by quite a bit, plus they have the advantage of being millions of dollars cheaper and not 37 years old.
I find it funny you mention an aging Michael Young who still is 2 years younger than Hunter.

Time to let this one go Lev and move on.

If he's gonna go to a bad team, he can go to his homestate Astros before returning home. While he may admit money isnt the issue, its always an issue with Torii.....esp if he'd come back here, he'd wanna get paid

Originally Posted by 70charger

I don't think he's talking roster spots. That outfield has David Murphy, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Hamilton, as well as a good 24-year old prospect in Leonys Martin. If Hamilton walks, maybe Hunter's a one-year guy. If Hamilton stays, where do you put him?

For whatever reason, I read the comment and was thinking we were in the Liriano thread..oops

Best case scenario imo is that the Twins get a haul for Span and willingham at the deadline and they sign a decent veteran like Hunter on a short contract. That allows Benson/Hicks to compete for one OF spot and Hunter can occupy one spot. Parmelee can split DH/1B with Doumit/Mauer/Morneau.

Just because a team is rebuilding doesn't mean that there can't be any veterans. The important thing is to make sure that they don't trade for any players 2-3 yrs away from FA, don't give out long contracts to declining veterans and don't sign so many that young players are blocked.

Originally Posted by TheLeviathan

You're right, far more feasible that he'll go to the worst team in the AL.

This team has David Murphy in LF and Mitch Moreland at 1B and an aging Young. I'm sure they can find ABs in the right situation.

I'm not sure why you have a problem with David Murphy. Dude's no superstar, but compare his stats and Torii's:

http://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.htm?id=5532
http://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.htm?id=7628

Here are my key takeaways: Torii's and Murphy's career OPS are virtually identical, but Murphy is 30 and Torii is 37. The OPS trajectory of their past 3 or 4 years has shown that Murphy is flat to slightly-improving, whereas Torii has shown a precipitous decline (and again, this goes back to age). Murphy's contract for 2012 is $3.625 million plus one more year of arbitration. Torii's contract for 2012 is $18 million, and he's a free agent after that. While it's pretty much a certainty that no one will pay him 5 times more than David Murphy next year, there's no reason to think that he's worth even one red cent more, what with his lower current production and declining numbers.

A smart GM doesn't replace Murphy with Torii. A smart GM might plug a vacant hole with Torii, but that's not the situation in Texas.

What the Twins need for RF next year is a stopgap who can step aside when a guy like Arcia, Benson or Hicks proves ready for a shot. Hunter doesn't really fit the bill because he'll still see himself as a full-time guy (deserving of a full-time salary).

Originally Posted by Nick Nelson

What the Twins need for RF next year is a stopgap who can step aside when a guy like Arcia, Benson or Hicks proves ready for a shot. Hunter doesn't really fit the bill because he'll still see himself as a full-time guy (deserving of a full-time salary).

If it's Hicks or Benson I think they should replace Revere in CF (All this assumes Span is gone by then, which he may not be) Ideally Revere ultimately ends up back as your 4th OF unless he can outperform Hunter.

In a perfect world our end of year OF next year would be Willingham, Hicks (CF), and Arcia/Benson.

If they trade Span then its worth a shot, otherwise no way.

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

I'm not saying Hunter would prefer Minnesota over Texas, I'm saying Texas will probably not have the at bats for him nor the desire to bring him in. (unless they get rid of Hamilton+another OF)

Also FWIW: Murphy and Moreland are both outpreforming Hunter by quite a bit, plus they have the advantage of being millions of dollars cheaper and not 37 years old.
I find it funny you mention an aging Michael Young who still is 2 years younger than Hunter.

Time to let this one go Lev and move on.

I'm not saying it makes perfect sense for Texas. I'm simply saying that we can throw around assumptions until we're blue in the face. Hell, he could be ok platooning with Murphy for all you or I know.

Nope.

I don't want to see Torri here. Torri is about Torri, not about the team.

Originally Posted by Bark's Lounge

Nostalgia can often hinder one's vision. I think it would be a mistake. Let's move forward with the pieces we have or will have and leave that past glory where it remains now. If you think about it, it wasn't all that glorious to begin with.

Thank you. Well said.

If BOTH Willingham and Span are traded, signing Torii Hunter would be a great idea. Span is as good as gone, but I think we'll keep Josh. I just don't see it happening with Willingham, Revere, and Mastroianni all playing good baseball. Hicks and Arcia are knocking on the door too.

I think Minnesota is the most logical spot for Torii. I guess he could replace Delmon in Detroit or goto Cleveland. But he has played here for a long time. I can see a 1 year deal if Span is traded (I hope they trade him after the season if they do there is no reason to trade him now as there is no one to replace him). I can see a 1 year 4 -6 million but I can only see this signing after we address the rotation.

I don't see Torii as a fit. Arcia, Hicks and Benson are all close and could be competing for an outfield spot next year. And if we are truly rebuilding, these are the guys you want out there getting experience. Even if they're not ready by the beginning of next season, you can plug the RF hole with Parmelee.

I get the veteran presence argument, but the team already has vets like Willingham, Doumit, Morneau and Mauer.

Originally Posted by Nick Nelson

What the Twins need for RF next year is a stopgap who can step aside when a guy like Arcia, Benson or Hicks proves ready for a shot. Hunter doesn't really fit the bill because he'll still see himself as a full-time guy (deserving of a full-time salary).

Even if you make the assumption that:

- Hunter would truely consider coming back to the Twins
- He could be had for a 1/2 year deal under $10 mil

I don't think that there is really a spot here for him. I agree that the Twins need a 1-2 year guy, but Hunter needs to DH o a semi-regular basis as well. The Twins have that spot spoken for with the Doumit/Mauer/Morneau trifecta. I think he could bring some life back to the clubhouse, along with another decent right-handed stick, but I don't see this being as good fit on this team as the roster is currently constructed.